Jak
'''Jak' (birth name Mar) is the main protagonist of the ''Jak and Daxter'' series, being the titular and playable character throughout the franchise with the exception of the spin-off game, Daxter. He is a human male with green-blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, and fair skin. Jak made his debut in The Precursor Legacy at fifteen years old, with his most recent appearance in The Lost Frontier at twenty years old. He is the son of Damas, born to the House of Mar in Haven City, but raised by Samos Hagai in Sandover Village until his mid teenage years. During the main series—from Jak II to Jak X: Combat Racing—Jak was voiced by Mike Erwin. However, during the sixth installment, The Lost Frontier, he was voiced by Josh Keaton. Jak did not speak during The Precursor Legacy. History Pre-birth, and early life Jak was born to the Grand House of Mar in Haven City as the son of King Damas. His mother was never mentioned in any of the games, making him one of many characters to have a father with no apparent mother.Along with Ashelin Praxis who had Baron Praxis as her father (with no apparent mother); Keira Hagai who had Samos Hagai as her father (with no apparent mother); and Rayn who had Krew as her father (with no apparent mother). A few years after his birth, Jak's father was ousted by Baron Praxis and Count Veger. The politics of the impeachment remain unknown, however it is known that it was amid the Metal Head Wars, giving the House concerns for Damas being in power. Through betrayel and tyranny, Baron Praxis rose to power as the "temporary" ruler of Haven City; banishing Damas to the Wasteland. Jak was pronounced an orphan and left on the city streets, losing the birth name Mar (for an unknown reason) and given the pen name "the kid." Veger, although the council leader of Haven City, was in a desperate search for the Precursor catacombs in hopes of turning the Planetary Defence grid on to defend the planet from the foreseeable future. Veger hoped to harness Jak's purity to awaken ancient Precursor technology. He managed to kidnap him intermittently, before losing him to a new rebel movement coined the Underground, whose sole purpose was to put young Jak back on the throne where he belonged and re-establish the House of Mar as the ruling dynasty of Haven City. Although Veger stated that he lost young Jak to the Underground, the Shadow (the Underground leader) noted that he found him just "wandering the streets," suggesting young Jak may have escaped by his own power. The new baron wanted Jak off the streets for this purpose. At some point during these events an older version of Jak arrived from a different time zone. Soon after being consoled by the Underground, Kor, an elderly member of the Underground, was assigned as the attendant of young Jak and his pet crocadog. The Shadow originally planned for the young child heir to open the Tomb of Mar and pass the Trials of Manhood to gain the Precursor Stone in order to defeat the Metal Head leader, but the tomb refused to admit the kid on the grounds that he was too young to face the tests. Instead, older Jak forced his way through the door of the tomb in an attempt to retrieve the stone, which at the time was viewed as a desecration due to his impurity. After older Jak passed the trials, young Jak vanished. Kor kidnapped him so that he could open the Precursor Stone for himself. Before The Precursor Legacy Kor would later be revealed to be the Metal Head leader, disguising himself as an Underground member to sabotage Baron Praxis, who made a deal with him that somewhat neutralized the ongoing war activity. Older Jak sent young Jak into the past with the Shadow, in order to protect him from the danger of Kor. Jak would then be raised into his adolescence under the watchful eye of the Shadow (real name being Samos). Jak grew up in Sandover Village alongside fellow village infant, Daxter, who became a close acquaintance. He also grew up with Samos' daughter, Keira, who became his main love interest. The events of The Precursor Legacy would take place around ten years after this. ''The Precursor Legacy'' The opening cutscene of The Precursor Legacy features Jak—along with his friend, Daxter (who was still in his human form)—straying about Misty Island; a place that was restricted by their guardian, Samos. The two entered a large area where two malignant figures were levitating in front of a large group of Lurkers, where they secretly observed them telling their apparent army to kill anyone straying from Sandover. Jak and Daxter then continued searching the island, where they were confronted by a large bone armor lurker shortly after the secret observation. The lurker charged the two when Jak quickly threw an activated dark eco bomb, disposing of the lurker, but inadvertently knocking Daxter into a pool of dark eco. When Daxter came back out, he was in the form of an ottsel. Jak then returned to Sandover Village to ask Samos for help. The two then discovered that their only hope of changing Daxter back is finding Gol Acheron, the dark eco sage, who lived far to the north of the continent. Jak then began basic combat and athletic training at Geyser Rock, where he got his heroic start collecting power cells and travelling north. Jak and Daxter, along with Samos and Keira, later find out while at the Red Sage's hut, that Gol Acheron and his sister, Maia, were the evil leaders that had been setting off the Lurkers and trying to consume the world in dark eco. Jak then entered their citadel, freed the captive sages and fought the two in their Precursor robot. Near the end of their battle Jak discovered light eco, which could change Daxter back (theoretically) or defeat Gol and Maia and save the world. They chose to save the world, and after the battle, Jak opened the ancient Precursor door at the top of the citadel, and discovered the Rift Gate and Rift Rider behind it, which would start the events of Jak II. During The Precursor Legacy, Jak was mute. It is unknown why, though it is possible he did not speak simply due to being constantly interrupted by Daxter. Before Jak II Between the end of The Precursor Legacy and the start of Jak II, Jak, Daxter, Keira, and Samos moved the Rift Rider and Rift Gate back to Sandover Village from the location of the large Precursor door. The four are seen studying the artifact in the opening cutscene, where Keira discovered that the Rider somehow interacts with the Ring. Jak was left to find out how to activate it. He then pressed the ruby button encased in the Heart of Mar (indicating location), which activated the Time Map (indicating timezone displacement). This opened the Gate, which inadvertently released the metal heads from an unknown location and caused a swarm of metal heads to attack Sandover Village, starting the second Metal Head Wars.The first Metal Head War was eons from that time, the two leading factions being the Metal Heads and the Precursors. Jak then managed to activate the Rider and enters the Gate, where they were sent into the future in Haven City. Upon entering the city, Jak was arrested by a patrol of Krimzon Guards headed by their commander, Erol. Daxter escaped (starting the events of the spin-off game Daxter), while Keira somehow became a mechanic in the city, and Samos was arrested and imprisoned (as his equivalent for that timezone was currently the leader of the Underground but called the "Shadow", and was therefore taken into custody in confusion). Jak would be imprisoned for two years before being rescued by Daxter at the end of Daxter (game). ''Daxter'' Jak only appears four times during Daxter, once at the intro scene where he is captured, once in the cage of a prison transport zoomer while being moved through the Industrial Section, once when Daxter was flipping through the channels in the Krimzon Guard Fortress, and once in the ending sequence when Daxter finished telling the story of how he saved Jak. In the intro scene, he has his appearance from The Precursor Legacy but has green hair. In the prison transport, he is wearing his prison scrubs and his hair is shorter than it used to be. In the fortress, his hair has been grown to how it appears in the second game. In the ending scene, he has his Jak II appearance. Though Jak's appearances are brief, the plot leading up to Jak II concerning Jak's acquisition of dark powers is somewhat significant. During these two years, he was imprisoned and experimented on under the "Dark Warrior Program." He went through multiple experiments and injections, changing his previous personality seen in The Precursor Legacy from a quiet, head-strong boy with an apparent mutism disorder, to a bitter, revenge-stricken adolescent. By the events of Jak II, Jak broke away from his mutism. ''Jak II'' After being rescued by Daxter and escaping from Prison, Jak experienced the first display of his dark alter ego (evinced from past experiments) while defeating a squad of guards in the Slums. He was asked to do so by Kor—who was disguised as a human working for the Underground—in order to protect a "very important" child. After defeating the guards, Kor directed Jak to the Underground, a rebel movement waging war against Baron Praxis; Kor noting that its leader, the Shadow, could use fighters like him (Dark Jak). Kor told Jak to find the hideout in a dead-end valley near the city wall, instructing him to ask for Torn. Upon meeting Torn, Jak was at first rejected. After Jak told the leader that he wished to see the "Shadow", Torn gave him the mission "Retrieve banner from Dead Town", in which Jak succeeded; starting initiation missions for membership to the Underground. From then on, Jak worked with a variety of new characters including Krew, a local smuggler and gang-lord, who had apparent connections with the Underground, as well as Onin, a blind soothsayer who knew of Jak's arrival from the past, and was also able to foresee his future. Others included Brutter, Kor, Vin, and Sig. Jak later discovered that the strange new world which they were making their way through was actually in the future, and that Haven City was built around Sandover Village, which was now known as Dead Town. Later in the game, Jak met the Shadow, and discovered it was actually younger Samos. He found Keira and older Samos as well, and upon defeating Kor (who revealed himself to be the Metal Head leader), sent his younger self (the "very important" child) back into the past with the Shadow to grow up safely in Sandover Village, thus repeating the time loop. ''Jak 3'' Shortly after the events of Jak II, war broke out on the streets of Haven City, as new Krimzon Death Bots took over a vital section of the industrial area of Haven, and a large group of stronger metal heads that have survived the death of the leader concentrated in the gardens sector of the city (at that point renamed Metal Head City). Veger saw this as an opportunity to rid Haven City of Jak, and therefore found him guilty in association with Krew, who compromised Haven City's security; letting the metal heads into the city. Veger, on behalf of the Grand Council of Haven City, banished Jak to the Wasteland for life. Distraught, only accompanied by Pecker and Daxter, Jak began looking for salvation in the midst of the desert. He eventually fainted in exhaustion, and having the beacon given to him by Ashelin just before their departure, was found by a king of Spargus, named Damas. Jak, along with Daxter and Pecker, were taken into Damas' sanctum where they were bathed and Jak's clothing was reduced and his hair cut. Jak nearly died, as Damas noted he was preparing to have his monks pray for him. Jak fought in arena matches to prove himself worthy of keeping, where he eventually earned citizenship to Spargus, and became an official "wastelander." Jak was invited back to Haven City, where he returned to fight in the war for Haven City. Cyber Errol was revealed to be the leader of the KG Death Bots as well as the surviving Metal Heads, however the greater threat was from the incoming Dark Maker Ship, which Errol sought to control in order to destroy the planet. In order to destroy the ship, Jak needed to activate the Planetary Defence System by accessing the catacombs near the ruins of the Mar Memorial Stadium. Damas answered Jak's call for help, but was crushed under their vehicle when a blast overturned it, inadvertently revealing that Damas was Jak's father in the final moments of his life. Jak continued through the Catacombs, activating the Planetary Defence System and traveled to the Dark Maker's ship to stop Cyber Errol, who escaped in a terraformer before the ship was destroyed. Returning to the Wasteland, Jak defeated Errol and his terraformer. The Precursors, revealed to be ottsels, asked him to come with them to protect the universe. He declined the offer due to the inseparable nature between Jak and Daxter similarly witnessed in the opening cutscene in the beginning of the game (when Daxter stayed behind with Jak in the Wasteland). It is also revealed that Jak's birth name was in fact Mar leaving many fans to speculate on whether Jak is the actual "Mar" who built Haven City, or if he is just of the same lineage and named after the famous figure. ''Jak X: Combat Racing'' About one year after the events of Jak 3, Haven City had been completely rebuilt and skinned to better suit the now massively popular sport, combat racing. With the war finished, Jak, Daxter, Keira, Torn, and Ashelin traveled to Kras City, to attend the late crime lord, Krew's will. The drinks with which they used to toast in his honor were poisoned. Along with the rest of his friends and Rayn, Krew's daughter, Jak is forced to race in the Kras City Grand Championship in order to win the antidote. When he finally triumphs in the final race, the antidote was stolen by Mizo (who turned out to be G.T. Blitz' alter-ego), forcing him to chase and defeat the crime lord to retrieve it. When Jak defeated Mizo they found out that Rayn had not been poisoned and that they were all part of a large scheme and Rayn had betrayed the whole group, taking after her father, Krew. Ultimately Rayn escaped but Jak, Daxter, Keira, Torn, and Ashelin were healed. ''The Lost Frontier'' After an unknown amount of time following the events of Jak X: Combat Racing, the world grew unstable due to a sudden eco shortage. Jak, Daxter, and Keira flew out to the other side of the world near the Brink in search of a new source of eco. Along the way, the group meets a band of Eco Pirates, a faction which hunts the frontier for helpless travelers to steal any supply of eco. During the first confrontation, the leader of the pirates known as Captain Phoenix, gets in a fight with Jak. Jak attempts to transform into Dark Jak, however the eco storms made the task excruciatingly painful, and he only got midway through the transformation process. When Phoenix witnessed this, he mistook him for one of his enemies, the Dark Warriors, and attempted to kill him, but Daxter scared him away with the gun turret placed on their aircraft, inadvertently forcing them to crash land on the Brink. Keira was able to repair their Hellcat, and they began to further their journey, when they witnessed a large flagship known as the ACS Behemoth calling for help as they were being attacked by Eco Pirates. Jak then helps the Aeropan craft, and is welcomed to the Grand City Aeropa to refuel. Upon reaching Aeropa, Jak explained to the city's leaders, Duke Skyheed and Chancellor Ruskin, that he is on a quest to find more eco. Once the former heard this, he revealed to Jak and his companions the Eco Seeker, a Precursor device said to point to any major source of eco; alas, the seeker was broken. Keira then asked if she can take the seeker to study it, and find out if she can make it work. Throughout the course of the game, Jak completes missions acquiring coordinate spheres which activate the Seeker. Eventually Jak discovered that the Aeropans were conducting a Dark Warrior Program on their citizens, making him angry and vengeful, where he then joined the previously and notoriously troublesome Eco Pirates in an effort against the Aeropans. In a siege on Aeropa Jak finally meets up with Skyheed, who has also turned into a Dark Warrior. Jak fights him, forcing him to retreat to his shielded flagship and attempts to drain eco from the Eco Core. With Phoenix' sacrifice, Jak is finally able to kill Skyheed, using a new light eco weapon made by Keira. The storms are then calmed due to the realigning and activation of the Eco Core, and the world is no longer in want of eco. ''PlayStation Move Heroes'' and Sly Cooper.]] Jak, along with is sidekick Daxter, appear in the game PlayStation Move Heroes, accompanying characters from similar and affiliated video games, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper. In the opening cutscene, Jak and Daxter are featured driving in a zoomer through what appears to be the industrial area of Haven City and further into the slums, while and unnamed antagonist tells them that he has taken control of their vehicle. Jak and Daxter jump out of the vehicle where they are frozen in motion and sucked into a wormhole which subsequently dumped them on a mysterious planet, where Jak first suspects Ratchet of the sudden turn of events. It is then revealed that two creatures named Lunk and Gleeber were responsible, who set up a competition for the three duos known as the Inter-Universal Hero Games. The Inter-Universal Hero Games was actually a malicious plot to steal chunks of the planets of the heroes in order to form a ring around a mysterious new planet in the universe, Lunk and Gleeber being an evil alien duo who enslaved an alien race known as Whibbles, forcing them to mine the heroes' planets hollow. Eventually it is revealed the new planet is actually a teleportation device, intended for the villains to use to take the heroes' place back home. The team defeats the alien duo and manages to use the device for themselves to return home safely. ''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'' Jak and Daxter also appear in the game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. In their story, Jak and Daxter set out to find a stronger source of eco. They run into Ratchet and Clank and proceed to fight after Daxter mistakes them for a two-headed creature, meanwhile Clank calls him a weasel creature where after it escalates quickly. They go through several more battles, fighting against various strange characters and people. Eventually they manage to win and retrieve the "eco", which turns out to be "All-Star Power", an unrelated power source. They then return home. Characteristics Appearance Jak's appearance varied over the course of the series; however, his outfits maintained the basic pattern of blue shirt/jacket and beige trousers. The armor on his left shoulder has remained in tact for every game—this presumably protects him from Daxter's claws. Aside from Jak X: Combat Racing, he has a steel ring across his chest held up by three leather straps (except for The Lost Frontier which is held by just two). He has a lean and muscular build, as well as yellow-green hair and cerulean blue eyes. He has long and pointy ears, common to most humans. He also wears goggles in every game. The most noticeable change in Jak's appearance from game to game is often his hair, which has ranged from spiky and long, to short and rough, in addition to the appearance of his goatee seen in Jak II and onwards, and a possible mustache and beard which can be toggled in The Lost Frontier. Jak grows in both height and mass as the series progresses. It is unknown if Jak grows taller in The Lost Frontier, but he does gain noticeable body mass, though the exact weight is unknown. Personality Jak changes notably as a character over the course of the series. During The Precursor Legacy, he is presented as brave and curious, willing to step into dangerous situations. The most notable feature of his personality was his apparent mutism. In Jak II, he broke away from his mutism, and after being subject to dark eco treatments for two years at the hands of Baron Praxis, revenge became his main basis, and he became angry and reckless—this is only exacerbated by the presence of dark eco. He also takes some enjoyment in killing metal heads and a fondness for guns. Nonetheless, Jak does retain some heroic personality traits. In Jak 3, which has him gain light eco powers to balance the dark eco, he becomes less angry and mature; which was further aided by the death of his father later on. In Jak X: Combat Racing, he turned into somewhat of a relaxed character, though this final encounter with Mizo shows that the anger still exists under a calmer exterior. In The Lost Frontier, he seems to be more carefree and happy. Despite some scenes hinting his anger (i.e. when he tries to turn to Dark Jak, seeing the Dark Warrior Program chair, etc.) he seems to be more cheerful than the rest of the series. Abilities Jak's primary ability is being able to channel various kinds of eco, which is used to great effect in The Precursor Legacy, giving him various "power-ups" in order to complete certain facets of the game. Jak does not have the ability to produce eco, however—separating him from the status of Sage—and instead channels it, absorbing it into himself, and uses it until he runs out (usually indicated with a meter). In Jak II, he gained the ability to transform into Dark Jak due to the two years of dark eco experiments performed on him at the hands of Baron Praxis. In Jak 3, he was granted light eco powers by the Precursors, allowing him to transform into Light Jak; balancing the destructive influence of the dark eco already in his body. In The Lost Frontier, Jak gained multiple eco powers from special Precursor idols and can also purchase powers from Keira using dark eco, though he was unable to use his previously seen light and dark powers due to the eco shortage. Jak is also shown to have superior athletic and acrobatic capabilities with much physical prowess. He can perform basic melee attacks, as well as leaping from a rolling position, dive head first to break sturdy objects, swing on poles endlessly, and jump high distances from a crouching vault. A core asset given to Jak from the beginning of his development was prodigious racing skills. Jak was very skilled in vehicular operation, using the A-Grav Zoomer in various missions during The Precursor Legacy, going on to zoomer hi-jacking during Jak II, as well as entering the NYFE racing championships, and during Jak 3 was able to race with buggies in the desert. Jak especially displayed his racing skills in the combat racing spin-off game Jak X: Combat Racing. Jak also had various aerial combat pursuits during The Lost Frontier. Equipment Jak uses various equipment throughout the series. Starting with The Precursor Legacy, Jak did not carry much or notable equipment, using only his goggles to more precisely aim yellow eco projectiles. In Jak II, he gains his morph gun and JET-Board, which continues to make an appearance in Jak 3. In Jak X: Combat Racing he loses these for a justifiable reason, having no further use for them in combat racing. He does not reobtain the JET-Board or Morph Gun in The Lost Frontier, and instead gains the use of a gunstaff similar in appearance to his father's. Jak occasionally also uses the Titan Suit and Dark Maker bot in Jak II and Jak 3 respectively. In Jak 3, Jak also obtains the Armor of Mar, which is not seen again afterwards. In The Lost Frontier he finds new armor much unlike Mar's armor. Relationships Daxter Jak has had numerous relationships with other characters throughout the series. The first, and perhaps most significant, is the secondary protagonist, Jak's sidekick, Daxter. Jak and Daxter, while both sharing a titular role in the game, have been close friends throughout the series. Arguably, it is Jak that is responsible for Daxter's transformation from human to ottsel, which set the stage even further for Daxter's role as a "sidekick." As noted by one of Naughty Dog's developers, Daxter and Jak's relationship is inseparable, which was brought to further light in Jak 3, when Daxter stayed behind with Jak in the desert, and Jak stayed behind with Daxter towards the end of the game. Daxter also spent two years looking for Jak while he was imprisoned, in addition to showing multiple signs of loyalty to his friend. Love interests Jak's main love interest throughout the series is Keira. Jak and Keira were raised in Sandover Village together, and only showed brief flirtation during The Precursor Legacy and Jak II (although it was clear to the spectator the two were together). In Jak 3, Keira was hardly present, and Jak's main love interest turned to Ashelin Praxis, the governess of Haven City who he first met in Jak II. The third game is the only game to show Ashelin being Jak's love interest (in which they kissed), whilst in the sequel, Jak X: Combat Racing, Keira comes back as Jak's main love interest and the two are clearly a couple, and after four games, share their first kiss. In The Lost Frontier, their relationship is solidified, as they show numerous traits of being together, and share another kiss towards the end of the game. In PlayStation AllStars: Battle Royale, Jak expresses a few times of how he misses Keira. Samos Hagai Jak's main father-figure throughout the series is Samos Hagai, who raised him since he was an infant. Samos, then known as the Shadow, met young Jak when he was an heir to the throne of Haven City. Jak's true father, Damas, had been dethroned and banished from the city, leaving Jak an orphan. Samos took care of young Jak in his war against the city's new ruler, Baron Praxis, where after he took him back in the past and raised him in Sandover Village. Samos would go on to be Jak's mentor throughout the series. Damas Jak did not have any relationship with his father to speak of due to their loss of contact since infancy. When Jak finally realized that Damas was his father, he passed away due to a fatal accident in the Slam Dozer after battling a league of Dark Makers. Jak made numerous remarks from that point on, and even in future games such as Jak X: Combat Racing, The Lost Frontier, and PlayStation AllStars: Battle Royale, about how his acts (often going into battle) were "for Damas." Jak also carried a gunstaff that was very similar to his father's. Development Development on Jak's character began in 2000, when Naughty Dog commissioned Charles Zembillas to design both the main character, his sidekick, and what would eventually become Lurkers. The first sketches of Jak depicted a young teenage boy, who wore villager's clothes. At first, Jak's species (as well as many other main characters in the game) pertained more to a wolf-like character with native-American attributes such as face paint and headdresses. Towards the middle of Jak's development, Naughty Dog's Bob Rafei took over development for Jak and created a more human character with subtle yet clear athletic aesthetics. Jak's final character would depict a teenage boy with spiky blond hair, blue tunic, and long pointed ears. Trivia *It is unknown whether or not this advertisement was official, but Jak "sponsors" Levi Jeans in a CG render for Jak X: Combat Racing. *Jak appears to be left handed according to multiple Jak X cutscenes, a poster of Jak 3, as well as his Dark Bomb attack being a left hand attack. Cameos *Jak appeared as an unlockable skin in Ratchet: Deadlocked. *Jak appeared in Hot shot's Golf FORE! with Daxter as his caddy. *Along with being a costume in LittleBigPlanet 1, 2'', and ''karting, he is also part of DLC in the game Modnation Racers. *In the affiliated game series Ratchet & Clank, many of the billboards would have pictures of Jak and Daxter, and Ratchet's Holovision in Endako appears with Jak and Daxter on it. More pictures of Jak and Daxter appear on planet Damosel, where, upon collecting a certain gadget, Ratchet and Clank will also perform one of Jak and Daxter's collectible dances from The Precursor Legacy. * Jak (along with Daxter) appeared in ''The Last of Us'', another video game created by Naughty Dog Inc., in the form of a piñata, and a board game. There were also easter eggs including the name of a coffee shop "Java Jak Coffee Cart", and a poster for a man named "Jack Sullivinsky" (also a reference to Victor Sullivin from Uncharted). Gallery jak.JPG Jak II with Daxter.jpg Jak in Jak II render.png Jak 3.png Jak X.png Jak from Jak 3 (render).png PSMHjak.jpg|Jak as he appears in PlayStation Move Heroes Jak and Daxter from PSAS.jpg|Jak as he appears in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale daxterpspjakprisonzoomer.jpg|Jak as he appears in Daxter, with shorter hair and no goatee to show how this game takes place a little before Jak II ratchetdeadlockedjakskin.jpg|Skin of Jak in Ratchet: Deadlocked jak_lbp_skin.jpg|Jak costume for Sackboy in LittleBigPlanet jakanddaxtermods.jpg|Jak and Daxter in Modnation racers (driving what appears to be the Tough puppy) Notes References Category:Characters in The Precursor Legacy Category:Characters in Jak II Category:Characters in Jak 3 Category:Characters in Daxter Category:Characters in Jak X Category:Characters in The Lost Frontier Category:Wastelanders Category:Underground Category:Freedom League Category:Eco Pirates